Embodiments of the disclosure relates generally to systems and methods for monitoring health of rotor blades or airfoils.
Rotor blades or airfoils play a crucial role in many devices with several examples including axial compressors, turbines, engines, turbo-machines, or the like. For example, an axial compressor has a series of stages with each stage comprising a row of rotor blades or airfoils followed by a row of static blades or static airfoils. Accordingly, each stage comprises a pair of rotor blades or airfoils and static airfoils. Typically, the rotor blades or airfoils increase the kinetic energy of a fluid that enters the axial compressor through an inlet. Furthermore, the static blades or static airfoils generally convert the increased kinetic energy of the fluid into static pressure through diffusion. Accordingly, the rotor blades or airfoils and static airfoils increase the pressure of the fluid.
Furthermore, the axial compressors that include the rotor blades or airfoils and the static airfoils have wide and varied applications. Axial compressors, for example, may be used in a number of devices, such as, land based gas turbines, jet engines, high speed ship engines, small scale power stations, or the like. In addition, the axial compressors may have other applications, such as, large volume air separation plants, blast furnace air, fluid catalytic cracking air, propane dehydrogenation, or the like.
The airfoils operate for long hours under extreme and varied operating conditions such as, high speed, pressure and temperature that affect the health of the airfoils. In addition to the extreme and varied operating conditions, certain other factors lead to fatigue and stress of the airfoils. The factors, for example, may include inertial forces including centrifugal force, pressure, resonant frequencies of the airfoils, vibrations in the airfoils, vibratory stresses, temperature stresses, reseating of the airfoils, load of the gas or other fluid, or the like. A prolonged increase in stress and fatigue over a period of time leads to defects and cracks in the airfoils. One or more of the cracks may widen with time to result in liberation of an airfoil or a portion of the airfoil. The liberation of airfoil may be hazardous for the device that includes the airfoils, and thus may lead to enormous monetary losses. In addition, it may be unsafe for people located near the device.
Accordingly, it is highly desirable to develop a system and method that may predict health of airfoils in real time. More particularly, it is desirable to develop a system and method that may detect and predict cracks or fractures in real time.